Cantona to star in film 'Moves'

Film to be directed by Herve P. Gustave

By JOHN HOPEWELL, ELSA KESLASSY

Soccer-star-turned actor Eric Cantona will be in HPG's next film, 'Les mouvements du bassin' (The Pelvis Moves).

CANNES — Rolling off his success in Ken Loach's "Looking for Eric," soccer-star-turned thesp Eric Cantona will topline "Les mouvements du bassin" (The Pelvis Moves), the next film from Gallic helmer HPG, the screen name of director-thesp Herve P. Gustave.

The HPG directed and starrer "On ne devrait pas existir" (We Should Not Exist) played in Cannes 2006 Directors' Fortnight.

Described as a burlesque tragic actioner, "Moves" turns on the relationship between two outsiders, Thierry, a student of self-defense martial arts, and Marion, whose dream is to have a child.

Cantona plays Thierry. Rachida Brackni, his real-life wife who acted in "Exist," limns Marion.

Currently in pre-production, "Moves" is set up at France's Capricci Films, a boutique production-distribution-sales company and book publisher based out of Nantes. "Moves" is skedded to shoot this fall, said Capricci partner Thierry Lounas.

Capricci will also produce "Dracula," the next film by left-of-field Catalan director Albert Serra, whose "Honor of the Knights" and "Birdsong" played Directors' Fortnight in 2006 and 2008 respectively.

Like "Honor," a hyper-minimalist, painterly rendering of two episodes from the "Quixote," "Dracula" looks set to deliver a singular big-screen version of Bram Stoker's novel.

In development, and to shoot in Romania and France, pic will use non-professional actors and a provisional screenplay allowing for on-set innovation.

Capricci will co-produce with Serra's own Barcelona label, Andergraun Films, pic's lead producer. As on "Birdsong," Capricci will also take French distribution and international sales rights, Lounas said.